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As I’ve mentioned before, one of the great advantages of my job is being able to read advance copies of the novels, memoirs and works of non-fiction that we feature in the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. So, I’ve already become a huge Ariel Sabar fan even though his book My Father’s Paradise, won’t be available in-stores until September. For those of you who can’t wait to read this rich and imaginative history of his father’s family’s life in Iraqi Kurdistan and subsequent immigration to Israel in the 1950s, this past weekend’s New York Times Sunday Magazine has an essay adapted from the book. I strongly recommend it. Without giving too much away, the essay serves as an overture that touches on all the major themes of Sabar’s book: the unique linguistic and historical journey of the Kurdish Jews; his own family’s dramatic history straddling Iraq, Israel and the United States; his youthful disaffection from that heritage and subsequent re-engagement; the tremendous toll taken on the individuals whose stories he shares–their difficulty belonging to the world they live in, alongside the impossibility of returning to the world the have the most affection for.

In 1978, your father was a professor of mine at UCLA. I remember him as a kindly, informal, and somewhat shabby scholar, and, although I took only one class from him, I have never forgotten him.

I was delighted to hear about your book on your NPR KPCC interview this morning. I’d love to be in touch with him and with you as well. Can you forward to me email addresses? I Would really appreciate it.
Joyce Bryan